Egypt's health minister outlines health-awareness push at media dialogue

Khaled Abdel Ghaffar met journalists and media professionals to present the ministry's health reform, screening and population goals.

He said state health work rests on institutional vision, the government program, and a national health strategy, not individual efforts.
He stated the ambulance system now operates about 4,000 vehicles covering all governorates.
He said the presidential initiatives screened 60 million citizens for hepatitis C and treated those infected.
He said population growth can become an economic strength only if quality education and job opportunities are available.
He said the health ministry's budget rose to 511.185 billion pounds for 2026, up from about 42.4 billion in 2014.
He said direct out-of-pocket health spending fell from 62.6% to 57.2% between 2018 and 2023.
He said comprehensive health insurance now covers 70 million citizens across 20 governorates at an annual cost of 52.7 billion pounds.
He said the second phase of comprehensive health insurance will target 18 million citizens, expanding to new governorates.
He set a goal to reduce out-of-pocket health spending from 62% to 28% under the national strategy.
He said average life expectancy for Egyptians has risen to about 72 years from roughly 70 years.
He said 16 presidential health initiatives have reached about 95 million citizens at a cost of nearly 44 billion pounds.
He said the state issues about 14,000 treatment-on-state-funds decisions daily at a cost of 25 million pounds.